Skins
by kolchaksghost
Summary: Bella Swan returns to her birthplace of Forks, Washington just as an Ancient Evil makes its presence known. Vamps, Wolves and humans mostly as in the books. AU. Possible non-canon couples. Bella/Alice femslash.
1. Chapter 1

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: SM is the only one that owns Twilight._

Prologue

The rain fell in buckets as thunder cracked and lightening split the sky. Despite the noon hour, it was as dark outside. Timothy Rowden ran through the heavy forest with Hell at his heels. His clothes, soaked through, were plastered to his skin and started to make running difficult. Timothy tripped on the slick, spongy, ground and his last thoughts were focused on the irony that his death came straight out of some crappy horror flick.

The emaciated black wolf drifted out of the trees and circled the downed teen. Each time the boy moved the wolf bit him, savagely. It toyed with him for hours; the terrified human noticed the satisfaction in its milky eyes. When Timothy was close to death, the wolf snapped his neck and began its feast. It howled in contentment before it disappeared back into the trees, the remains of its meal left for the scavengers.

Ch. 1: Homecoming

BPOV

I left the plane and headed into the Port Angeles terminal stiffly. The shuttle flight from SEATAC in Seattle had been packed. That combined with the small plane meant very cramped conditions for the forty-five minute flight. The wind from the tarmac into the terminal was cool, even for September in the Olympic Peninsula, and my jacket had been packed in my large suitcase. Not that the cold bothered me, in fact the breeze tingled as it crossed my skin; almost as if it were welcoming me home.

This was the first time that I'd been back since I was thirteen. The same year I made the choice to follow my heart and was strapped. Charlie, my dad, had wept for three days straight because he felt that he had lost me just as he had lost my mother, Renee. She could not support his decision to live an average life as the Police Chief of some backwater town, thereby turning his back on those who needed him the most. So she took me and fled to blistering heat of Arizona.

That's not to say Charlie and I never saw each other. We spent two weeks every summer camping and hiking in the wild areas, first here then in California, Oregon and Canada; as well as every other Christmas together in Nova Scotia. Renee was a bit of a worrier so I never stayed to long away from the safety of the Private Community we lived in twenty miles outside of Phoenix. My father bristled under the restrictions at first but understood the reasons behind them and eventually let it go so he could enjoy what little time we had to spend together.

The terminal was predictably busy as people flocked back home in time for the first day of the new school year. I was more than a little nervous about that fact because this was the first time I had ever attended a public school. While the thirty families that lived in Erikson Estates made frequent trips to the city and knew Phoenix like the back of their hands, all of us children were home schooled. And while I had friends that lived in the Burbs, I didn't like to mix with Outsiders.

Charlie waited for me over by the baggage claim. His eyes lit up when he saw me make my way to him through the crowd. "Bells," he yelled and pulled me into a crushing bear hug when I got closer.

I hugged him back with as much strength as I had. "I missed you Char…Dad," I choked out.

He released me and gave me _the look_, the one that always meant that he still didn't approve of my use of his given name, or that I used it interchangeably with dad. I reciprocated with a look that told him that I'd been doing it all my life and I wouldn't stop now, just because I was going to be living with him until I graduated. Charlie laughed and shook his head. It was a losing battle and he knew it. His expression tightened a little when he noticed the tattoo on my right forearm. Fortunately, for both our sanities, he never said a word about it.

We grabbed my bags and headed out to his Police Cruiser parked at the curb. The hour drive back to my birthplace of Forks, Washington, was blissfully silent. Neither of us was overly verbose so we never felt the need to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter. Renee always said Charlie and I were too much alike in that respect. The trip, thus far, had been tiring; but as I lost myself in the thrum of the energy and beauty of this place, I became revitalized.

Charlie's house was exactly as it had been since before my mother had fled this town with me when I was only months old, at least on the outside. Like everything else in Forks, only the exteriors never changed. The insides were a whole other ballgame, this house was no exception. It was thoroughly modern with all the latest hardware and gadgets.

The kitchen and laundry room had new, energy efficient, appliances. The living room had the most up to date Entertainment Center; sixty-two inch plasma television, blu-ray DVD player, theater quality surround sound and audio system complete with iPod dock. Hell, the whole house was rigged for wireless internet access. All the furniture was picked for its comfort and classic design. This was the delicate balance that most of the town maintained in order to honor the past and thrive in the present.

I went up to my room and unpacked my stuff and was relieved that my trunk that Renee had sent arrived earlier. My room, at least, had not received a major overhaul, which made me thankful. The handmade oak furniture had been placed here before I was born so that I could grow into it. Now, I finally had. After an hour, everything had been put away and I went back downstairs to nosh on the pizza Charlie had ordered.

While we ate, he asked me questions about how things were back in Arizona. He pushed a slender silver rectangle at me just as I finished my last slice of pizza. A closer inspection showed that it was an e-book reader. Charlie explained that Forks High along with the school on the La Push Reservation had been chosen by the State Board of Education to test out the paperless, E-Campus model.

Through a Federal grant, each student received an e-book reader and a laptop. All the textbooks were PDF files and homework assignments were submitted as e-mail attachments. For the next two hours I set up my laptop, downloaded all of my textbooks, printed out my schedule and had taken a virtual tour of the school. Next, I e-mailed Renee and my friends back home then went to bed. Tomorrow was the first day of school and I wanted to be well rested.

It had started to rain just after we got back to the house, not an unusual occurrence in Forks. This was one of the rainiest places in the continental United States, after all. You would think that having lived in the desert for the better part of my life that the sound of the rain would keep me awake. It had the opposite effect; the gentle rhythm lulled me into a deep, restful sleep. Tomorrow would be full day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: Same as the last one._

Ch. 2: Bad Omen

ChPOV

No sooner than Bells had gone up to bed, my cell phone rang. "Swan," was all I said when I hit the talk button. Only my Officers and Bella called my cell, so I already knew this was a business call.

"Chief, its Roberts. You better get to the High School, quick. They just found the body of the Rowden boy in the woods behind the school. He's been eaten by some kind of animal," the Officer said in that clipped, succinct manner most cops developed after a couple of years on the Force.

Lt. Shawna Roberts had been a big city cop up in Seattle for five years before she had enough of the double standards and tried her luck in a small town. She had been passed over for promotion three times strictly because she both a lesbian and a Wiccan. When her girlfriend at the time had been raped and the DA let the perp off with a slap on the wrist, she decided that enough was enough.

Forks had been the first place she had come to. Five minutes in my office and I offered her the position as my second in command. At first, she was surprised but I explained that outside of me, she was more than qualified for the job. Shawna accepted without a seconds thought. Only later, after relocating did she find out that Forks was more tolerant than most small towns.

Shawna and her now wife, Dana, embraced the town as whole heartedly and the town had embraced them. She became one of his most dedicated Officers and didn't let anybody jack with "Her Town." The two women had even become my closest friends outside of La Push. In fact, Dana went out of her way to see that I always had at least three decent meals a week.

My Second met me as soon as I climbed out of the Cruiser in the school parking lot. Her grim expression told me everything I needed to know, that the scene was almost too gruesome for words. She took me to the body and it was worse than I'd imagined. There was hardly anything of the boy left. The only reason an ID had been made was because Rowden's wallet was found in the corpse's back pocket.

That was not a positive ID by any stretch of the imagination, we needed DNA confirmation. The outdoorsman in me had taken over as I examined the scene before me. It was obvious that whatever had killed the boy had dragged the body from deeper in the forest. From the tracks, it looked like wolf was the guilty party. Without waiting for backup, I crept along trail the body left in search of the initial attack site.

What I saw there made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my stomach churn; blood was everywhere. From the amount of damage done to the surround area, the beast had toyed with the teen for couple of hours at least before it killed him. Everything about the scene before me screamed out that the animal had taken pleasure in playing with its food.

This wasn't normal wolf behavior. Even a rabid wolf didn't do things like this. It reminded me of the movie Ghost and the Darkness, which was supposed to be based on a true account of two lions that were the most vicious man-eaters ever. I knew the actual history behind what happened in Africa all those years ago; the fact that what I looked at now caused such a mental link scared the shit out of me. Deep down I knew that this was only the beginning.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen was at the site where the body was discovered when I got back. A glance at him and Shawna let both know there was more going on than it appeared. Carlisle gave last minute instructions for removal of the body and Shawna made sure that everyone else packed up and headed out. I stayed on the edge of the tree line and waited for the area to empty.

My two confederates joined me with quizzical expressions. I nodded my head back up the trail and Carlisle flashed past me at vampire speed while my Second and I followed at a brisk human pace.

I was born and raised here and spent a great deal of my time down at La Push making friends with the Tribal boys. Eventually they told me their legends, so I knew all about the Spirit Warriors, shapeshifting and the Cold Ones; especially the Treaty that the Cullen's had made with them. It shocked them when the found out Shawna, Dana and I knew the truth about them and were fine with it. Once they realized we wouldn't betray them, we all became one big tight-knit clan.

At the kill site, we all agreed that something unnatural had happened. Beneath the smell of blood and death and the visual horror of the scene was a feeling. It felt like something evil had passed through the area. Carlisle agreed to have his kids check out the area on their way to school in the morning and Shawna volunteered to do research into what might have caused this.

My Second ran ahead of me and Carlisle on the way back to our cars. It was obvious that the good doctor had something on his mind. Just before I got into the Cruiser he spoke.

"Does your daughter know about my family and I," he asked. I knew that the issue weighed heavily on him.

"Yes. Even if she hadn't dedicated her life to Myth and Legend, she respects privacy and would never tell a soul your secret," I commented and the vampire visibly relaxed. Bella would be in for a few surprises at school tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I only own Cormack._

Ch. 3: First Day

BPOV

The gentle rain that had started last night hadn't let up when I awoke to the sound of my alarm. Another rainy day in Forks, who'd have guessed. After I rolled out of bed, I took a hot shower then went back to my room to get dressed. My closet was stocked with all of Renee's latest designs, from retro to too chic for Forks. The latter had been her passive/aggressive attempt to show her disapproval of my leaving Arizona.

I donned a pair of black skinny jean, matching calf-high suede boots with black rabbit fur trim, and my favorite blue tunic with silver and gold knot work trim. The outfit was accented with a simple silver necklace and a silver link belt. My eyes strayed to the ornately carved wooden box that sat on the top shelf of the closet. I felt the familiar longing to open it so that I could put on the intricately woven leather belt it contained.

Pride swelled through me as I resisted the temptation and closed the closet door. In time, when I'd earned the right to wear it, I would. My head nodded in satisfaction at the sight of myself in the full length mirror. Charlie would not have approved of the tunics half sleeves because he preferred that I kept my tattoo covered, but I refused to be ashamed of it. If the Outsiders had a problem with it, too damn bad.

I ran downstairs to the kitchen and looked for something that sounded good for breakfast. At first nothing appealed to me then I opened the freezer and spied the Food of the Gods, cinnamon toaster strudel. Any toaster strudel would do, but cinnamon was my favorite. Two of the frozen pastries went into the toaster while I swiftly kneaded the packets of icing that went with them. The smell of warm cinnamon filled the kitchen and I rushed through putting the icing on them before they were wolfed down.

The clock on the wall read 7:15; I had forty-five minutes until school started. I made my way out to the rusted hulk of a truck that Charlie had bought me as a homecoming present. Reluctantly, I climbed into the cab and turned the key in the ignition. After three tries, it turned over with a groan.

The manual transmission had to be forced to into first as I pulled away from my new sanctuary, but went into second, third and fourth gears with only a little effort. The engine wailed like a cat thrown into a chipper/shredder and smoke billowed from the tailpipe. There was no way the ancient trucks exhaust profile was anywhere close to EPA standards. Despite the sounds the engine made to indicate increased speed, a gerbil on an exercise wheel would probably been faster. Still, I made it school in one piece and that was all that could be asked for at this point.

The student parking lot was half full when I arrived, so I parked in the nearest space and killed the engine. The strangled whine it issued as it shut off was not a good sign. I felt the eyes of the students that were already there on me the second I left the protection of the truck cab. They had already been alerted to my presence because to the racket the truck made when I entered the lot. Now, they knew that it belonged to the new student.

_Yes, the prodigal daughter has returned,_ I thought mirthlessly, while I grabbed the messenger bag that held my laptop and e-book reader and strode purposefully toward the school. The six buildings that comprised Forks High School looked as though they were built back in the 1950's and could withstand a small nuclear blast.

My mind quickly reviewed my class schedule:

Home Room: Mrs. Jenkins Rm. 104

1st Period: English Mrs. Jenkins Rm. 104

2nd Period: Trigonometry Mr. Conners Rm. 301

3rd Period: German Ms. Blucher Rm. 210

4th Period: Lunch

5th Period: Biology Mr. Banner Rm. 501

6th Period: Study Hall Mr. Cline Gym

7th Period: Creative Writing Ms. Roberts Rm. 101

I detoured to a water fountain then headed to Home Room. Ms. Jenkins looked up from her laptop when I entered the class. She sent a quick e-mail to Mrs. Cope in the office to inform the administrative assistant that her new student had checked in. There were still fifteen minutes before the bell and I had been the first to arrive.

"You must be Isabella Swan. I understand that you are just auditing classes this year but you will still be required to participate in class discussions and activities. You may do the homework assignments if you like but it will not be required," the forty-something year old woman commented.

"Bella, please, and I won't have any problems with the class room interactions or even doing the homework if teachers would like," I corrected Ms. Jenkins.

"In fact, I didn't know that I'd scored high enough on the standardized test the Board of Education made me take that I could've skipped my junior year entirely. My father obviously thought I should still experience the eleventh grade," I finished.

Ms. Jenkins smiled and gave me what she thought was an understanding look, but came off just a tad condescending. She handed me a card with her e-mail address on it and told me to sit anywhere I liked. Without a pause, I headed straight for the back of the class room and sat down at a desk in the middle of the last row. The remaining students filed in and attempted to act nonchalant as they all stared at me.

Several of my so-called peers worked up the courage and attempted to talk to me. It seemed that my worst nightmare from before my move had come true, I was the shiny new toy that all the other kids wanted.

The rest of my morning played out the same way. I arrived early for each class, had a brief interaction with the teacher then spent the rest of that hour being stared at like some caged animal in a zoo. Every once in a while, I heard whispers about another new kid; a foreign exchange student from Scotland. From what I gathered, he was quite handsome and had become the object of many a hormonal fantasy.

In my German Class, I was shocked to find that I wasn't the first to arrive. There was a blonde supermodel already seated in the last row. After my conversation with Frau Blucher, a shiver went down my spine when I thought her name; I noticed the goddess in the back row had the trademark golden eyes of a vegetarian vampire. She smiled as I sat down next to her without hesitation, a smile of my own spread across my face.

"Hello, my name is Rosalie Hale, your father is friends with my father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen," she said softly, her voice sounding like wind chimes.

I nodded to the vampire and commented, "Yes and please convey my thanks to him, and your family, for being there for him. I've always worried about him living alone surrounded my Outsiders. It's nice to know he had people that were trustworthy to care for him."

Rosalie raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow when she heard me say the word "Outsider," but visibly relaxed as it occurred to her that I wouldn't out her family. She offered me her hand and I shook it without flinching from the coldness of her skin. Her nearly imperceptible nod showed me that I had passed the other girls second test; I hadn't cringed at her body temperature. We were still the only students in the class and the teacher was absorbed in whatever was on her laptop screen, so she pulled her hand from mine with vampire speed.

I brought my own hand up to my mouth with exaggerated slowness and faked a yawn. Her answering smirk was the only thing that indicated I passed the third test; which gave me the hat trick. Obviously, I just earned her trust and seal of approval. It shouldn't have mattered, but for some reason it did. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and decided to have a little fun.

"So, what's a nice girl like you doing in a class like this," I asked with a breathy voice while I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

The vampire let out a wind chime laugh at the overly cheesy pick-up line. "I collect cars as well as work on them. The manuals for Mercedes Benz, BMW and other works of precision crafted German engineering are best read in the original language. That way I know nothing is lost in the translation," she remarked off-handedly.

At the reminder of cars, I pulled out my cell phone and called Renee. She picked up on the first ring. "Hi, mom, I need you to call the Saab dealership in Seattle and have them deliver a decent car to the Forks High School before the end of classes. Thanks, love ya, bye," I spoke rapidly into the receiver and ended the call before she had a chance to speak.

Class started and Rosalie didn't get the opportunity to ask about my call. Instead she passed me a note that invited me to sit with her and her family at lunch. I nodded in acceptance and zoned out as Frau Blucher, shiver, droned on about the beauty of the German language. I would've been more impressed if her speech had been in the actual language, instead of English. The bell rang and Rosalie and I headed to the cafeteria together.

If I had been the center of attention before, walking with my vampire companion made it worse. All talking stopped as we moved through the lunch line. It amused me as I watched her pick out a Caesar Salad and a bottle of water. I chose the barbeque rib sandwich with fries and a Diet Coke, a girl needed to watch her figure after all. The eerie silence was punctuated with expressions of righteous indignation on the faces of our fellow students as I followed the vampire to the table where her family waited.

My progress was interrupted when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned toward the owner of the hand; a blue eyed, blonde boy whose face was still round with baby fat. He wore a letterman's jacket the hung loosely from his wiry frame. From his cocky body language, he must've thought that he was quite the stud.

"Well hello, the name is Newton, Mike Newton. I thought we should be introduced before we go out tonight," he intoned, trying to act all suave and Daniel Craig-ish. I would've laughed him off but he ran his hand down my arm as he leered at me.

"First, I never date Outsiders. Second, if I did, I would never date you. So why don't you take your talking-monkey ass back to whatever tree you fell out of and fling your crap at somebody dumb enough to be impressed by it. And while you're at it, try to grasp the concept of personal space," I answered in my coldest voice and pulled myself from his grasp.

I started to walk to the Cullen's table again when I heard the dumb jock move. Before he had taken two steps, a blonde girl at the closest table called out to him, "Mike, don't be a pest, the poor girl just started her."

He whipped his head in her direction and fumed, "Keep you little dyke nose out of this Lauren. If you can't, then I guess I'll have to find somebody to do it for you."

I made it to the table and sat down before the Newton boy accosted me any further. The other students came back to life and their conversations droned into background noise. The five vampires looked at me for a second then Rosalie introduced her siblings. She started on her left and worked her way around the table.

"This is my mate, Emmett. Next to him is Alice, then Jasper and finally Edward," the blonde explained.

With their parents included, there were seven vampires in their family. Two mated pairs and three singles. I examined the unfamiliar vamps in front of me. Emmett had close cut curly black hair and was built like tank. Alice was short and delicately feminine, her nymph like featured were accentuated by her pixie cut black hair that spiked out. There was some ethereal quality that drew your eyes to her. Jasper was a few inches shorter than Emmett with a full head of blonde hair; he could've easily passed for Rosalie's twin. His muscular build gave him the appearance of a gladiator. Edward with his tousled bronze hair, slightly chiseled features and lean physique looked like the statue of David come to life.

"As you can see, I'm Bella. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Maybe sometime I could meet your parents as well," I responded and tried to keep my focus on the group as a whole and not on any of the single vampires. It became painfully obvious that they wouldn't let me get away with that.

"Bella, I just love your tunic. Where did you get it," Alice asked, her voice sounded like silver bells.

"My mom, Renee, made it for me. In fact she made all of my clothes and more than a few of my accessories," I replied with just a touch of pride.

"Really? I thought it was something from the new House of Wode collection," she pouted.

"Isn't that what I just said," I queried in return my right eyebrow arched meaningfully.

"YOUR MOTHER DESIGNS FOR THE HOUSE OF WODE," the two vampire girls screamed in unison.

"No, she doesn't just do the designs, she owns it," I corrected which sent the girls into shock.

I had taken a bite from my sandwich while I waited for either the girls to recover, or the boys to actually speak. My day got incredibly worse when an all too familiar voice rang out through the enclosed space. _When did Hell freeze over_, I wondered.

"Aren't you the bold lass," a thick Scottish brogue called out with a laugh.

I turned to look behind me and saw a six foot tall form with a swimmer's build and an unruly mop of bright red hair bent over a seated girl whose name was Jessica Stanley, if I remembered correctly. What little food was on my tray was quickly relocated to the table as I pushed my chair back to get maneuvering room. After a couple of calculations for trajectory, I threw my tray with all the strength I possessed and hit the bastard in the back of the knees, which made him fall on his ass.

"BLOODY HELL," he yelled and turned to look at the source of the attack.

His eyes narrowed when they had taken in my smug smile. "Cormack St. Clair, did you suddenly grow ten tons of stupid. I seem to recall telling you never to come within fighting distance of me or I'd render you useless to women," I called out sweetly and batted my eyes. Giggles from the assembled girls and groans from the boys caused my own smile to grow wider.

"Obviously your mum dinna know of our wee spat, darlin'," the Scot replied. He picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off before he put on a faded leather duster that had hung over the empty chair by Jessica

My eyes flashed wide for the briefest of moments in longing as I noticed the duster. Cormack adopted a smirk of his own because he knew the source of that longing. He knew far too much about me. We had been lovers since we were both fifteen, but that all ended when he made the choice to bang my cousin at my sixteenth birthday party, last year. The Elders had exiled Cormack from the Erikson Estates as punishment.

The bell rang and ended the confrontation. I turned back to my lunch mates and asked if any of the Cullen's had Biology next period. Both Alice and Edward jumped up and answered in the affirmative. The three of us walked to class and I prayed nothing else could go wrong today. Naturally, it did. Cormack was in the same Biology class.

It was on interesting hour.

All of us had arrived in class seconds before the final bell. Mr. Banner talked with me and Cormack for a few second then gave us our choice of the last two empty seats. One next to Alice and the other next to Edward; Edward waved me to the seat next to him but somehow my bag ended in the chair by Alice. He looked pissed as I went to that chair and left Cormack to take the place at his side.

Class passed slowly and the air around me hung thick with the sexual tension the two Cullen's and the Scot exuded. I felt like a caged animal, a confused but aroused caged animal. Thank the Gods that Jasper didn't have this class as well; I'd probably go into hormonal overload and molest the first one that so much as brushed up against me. I was never happier to have a lesson end in my life. Not for the first time, I wished I was still home schooled.

The rest of my day went by quietly and when the final bell sounded, I rushed out to the parking lot to see what new car waited for me. I wasn't surprised to find both Rosalie and Alice leaning on my brand new, electric blue metallic Saab 9-3 convertible. The Dealership had been nice enough to tow my old junker away. None of the Cullen boy could be seen and, thankfully, Cormack was nowhere around as well. The only one that still hung around was the Newton kid. He followed me with his eyes as I walked all the way to my car.

"I hope you don't mind, but we wondered if we could hang out at your place tonight," Alice pleaded.

I nodded and the three of us jumped into the Saab and headed back to my place.

LPOV

I sat on the edge of my pool and thought about my day. It would've been typical if it hadn't been for Bella Swan. She was breath taking; no wonder every guy in school wanted her. Mike's inept attempt to get her to go out with him was just painful. It was obvious that she really wasn't into him. From the looks she gave the available Cullen siblings, I thought she might go both ways. Maybe I still have a shot with her?

A low growl brought me out of my thoughts and I turned my head in the direction of the sound. There, crouched to spring, was a thing mountain lion that was missing clumps of fur and had milky eyes. Hunger burned in their cloudy depths and I knew that I was about to die. Before I could scream, the big cat pounced. Its claws and fangs ripped apart my flesh. Ever so slowly, Death claiming me; but not before the monster had eaten half my torso.


	4. Chapter 4

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight._

Ch. 4: Girl talk and Unwanted Attention

APOV

When Carlisle had come home last night and told us about the attack all of us agreed to check out the kill site and see what impressions we had. He also explained that Charlie had confirmed that his daughter, Bella, knew all about us. The exact words the Police Chief had used were a bit odd, but at least the girl could be trusted. I knew Rosalie had some childish tests up her sleeve, although, the human would pass with flying colors.

I tried to keep the visions I'd had of the girl a secret. It had been fine until Edward read my thoughts while I was distracted with the deer I drained. After that, it was pointless, he watched me like a hawk in case there were more visions; and hounded me until I told everyone about the past ones. Stupid, annoying, mind-reading prick of a vampire.

In some of the visions, Bella was wounded and bloody. She fought some kind of animal but that part of the vision was always obscured. The theme that ran through all of them, regardless, was the fact that she would be important to one of us. Important as in a mate; considering three of us were single in our family, the fact that an eligible woman would be mate material at all was significant. I had taken to drawing what I had seen in order to prevent my brother poking about my head.

Not that I had drawn everything in my visions. As long as something was committed to paper, Edward didn't press the issue. What nobody knew, was that Bella's future oscillated between me and Jasper. Edward didn't have a chance with her. No matter what he tries, she won't have him. All of this meant that I needed to strike first, before Jazz attempted to influence her emotions.

It failed to escape my notice that the human's eyes kept being drawn to me while we all sat together at lunch. Edward planned to ask Bella out tomorrow and Jasper intended to be more subtle and use his gift to his advantage. So, Rose and I had waited at her car afterschool under the pretense of hanging out. I only wanted a chance to get to know her better, before the situation became too confusing.

We arrived back at the Swan house an hour after leaving the school. Bella had wanted to test out her new ride, so she headed for Port Angeles first. When we got there, she pulled over and told Rose she could drive home. The brunette had made a friend for life with that move. My sister climbed behind the wheel and channeled her inner A.J. Foyt.

Bella led us up to her room and dropped her messenger bag by the oaken four poster bed. Naturally, the first thing I did was open her closet. It was practically a shoe box. I was surprised anything fit in there at all. Once I had gotten over the shock, I noticed that all of her clothes were House of Wode. I couldn't contain my excitement.

"Oh my God, Bella, these clothes are amazing. Some of these pieces haven't even hit the stores yet," I gushed.

Bella shook her head and smiled, "There is more in the dresser, take whatever you like. Or, you could just call Renee and give her your sizes and buy everything over the phone."

I started to do a happy dance and squeal. She and Rose laughed at my antics. Bella needed to start cooking dinner, so she told us to come down after we were done snooping. Rose gasped softly as she turned the pages of a leather bound book and ran downstairs with it cradled protectively in her hands. I followed behind her, curiosity getting the better of me.

RPOV

Bella had her back to me as she worked at putting lasagna together. I sat down at the table and Alice had taken the chair next to mine. The human girl turned and smiled at us but stiffened when she saw the tome that I held.

"Bella, how did you get an illuminated manuscript edition of Edda Siggursson's first book," I asked then followed with, "It really is beautiful."

She blushed then took a deep breath. I could see that she deliberated over what she would say. She turned back to the completed lasagna into the oven and joined us at the table.

"It's kind of a long story, and there are parts that have to remain vague for the moment. If you can accept that, I'll tell it to you," she said slowly.

Alice and I both nodded, the entire family had been curious about Bella for some time. Whenever Charlie spoke of her, it was about her grades or the wildness adventures they went on. If we asked for any other details, his face got a pained look then he clammed up.

Bella's eyes had taken a far off look as she began, "Forks was originally founded when twenty families had settled in the area. They had left there homes and trekked here so that they might practice their religious beliefs in peace; away from the prying eyes of the Outsiders. As the years passed, civilization slowly caught up with them and the Outsiders literally became the Barbarians and the Gate.

"At first, both groups lived together peacefully. The Elders believed the days of persecution would never return. Then the 1950's happened. A new wave of paranoia swept through the country when a self-righteous jackass named Joseph McCarthy came to power and attempted to route out the Communist menace in the United States. His Senate hearings made the Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials look almost humane.

"Anyone that was different eventually had to stand before McCarthy's Committee. Countless lives were destroyed simply on an accusation. The whole mess was just trial by mob. The Elders didn't wait for the finger to point their way, they quickly purchased land outside Phoenix and all but three families left soon after.

"Those that stayed behind agreed to leave when the time was right. The Swan's, Gerhardt's and Reynolds' continued to live in harmony with their neighbors. While Charlie served a two year hitch in the Marines, his father and Renee's went to see the Elders in Erikson Estates. While they were there, they had arranged my parent's marriage.

"Charlie came home to a wedding. Over the years, he had grown tired of our segregation from others. The marriage was the final straw, so he snapped. It wasn't long after the blessed day that they found out mom was pregnant. She insisted they move to the Arizona community but he repeatedly refused. A few months after I was born, she left with the last of the families and had taken me with her."

Bella paused and left the table. She placed an unlabeled wine bottle into the bottle warmer on the counter then pulled a second one out of the fridge. She switched them out and poured herself a glass of the clear liquid. From the honey smell, I knew it was mead. The bottle from the fridge contained blood, and when it was warm, she poured Alice and I a glass. We sipped our beverages, each of us savoring them.

When her glass was empty, the brunette continued, "I was raised in Erikson Estates. Despite the rumors, it is not a cult or another one of the LDS fundamentalist groups. It is a private religious community. The closed example I can give you would be the Mennonites. Like them, we enjoy living in the modern world while remaining true to our beliefs.

"At the age of thirteen, the children are considered adults and given the choice to embrace our faith, or not. Those, like me, who embrace our faith are given a test, those that pass are then assigned a mentor. At fifteen, you become a full member of the Community and have a responsibility to it.

"Most of us are skilled artisans, tradesmen or successful business people. Unlike Renee, who encompasses all three, I'm strictly an artist. My chosen art form is the written word. At first it was just writing, it evolved to encompass bookbinding and illuminated texts. I have found the process of creating such manuscripts relaxing and therapeutic. I finished that one just after I sent the book to the publisher," she finished.

"You made this," I asked in awe. Then the rest of what she said sunk in.

She watched the realization come to me. "Yep, I'm Edda Siggersson," Bella comments casually, as if it were nothing special.

BPOV

Rose had been shocked to find out that I was her, and Esme's, favorite author. When she had gotten over it, I was bombarded with questions about my Shield Maiden series. So far only four books had been published but I had written seven. The blonde vampire acted like a total fangirl when I told her. She begged me to let her read the others but I was distracted by something unexpected.

Alice had reached over and started to brush her fingertips over my tattooed forearm. Where her skin met mine, fire spread through my body and scorched my soul. My eyes fluttered and I couldn't stifle the moan of pleasure that escaped my lips. The petite nymph pulled her hand away and I whimpered at the loss. It had taken all four years of disciplined living not to reach out and touch her.

Rosalie brought me back to reality as she cleared her throat. The three of us continued to talk. They sensed when they'd strayed into areas I couldn't talk about. I told them all about my relationship with Cormack. Then for some unknown reason, followed that up with my brief fling with Brigit Shannon, when visited England during last Christmas; Charlie had the flu and couldn't come out to Nova Scotia, so Renee thought a trip was in order.

I pulled the lasagna out of the oven just before Charlie walked through the door. He asked about my day and nearly had a heart attack when Alice mentioned Cormack. He turned around and stormed out of the house. The girls looked puzzled at my smug smile when the door closed. When I explained that once he calmed down, Charlie was going to run the wicked Scot out of town, they giggled.

The vampires left shortly after my dad, so I ate in silence. It had been an exhausting day, so once I put the rest of the lasagna in the fridge, I went to bed.

ChPOV

After I reigned in my anger, it hadn't taken long to find out where that son of a bitch, St. Clair lived. He wasn't home when I got there. Well he wasn't inside. The idiot was screwing Jessica Stanley in the back seat of his car. They were so involved that they hadn't noticed me look in the car.

_Was that a scream I heard from inside the house,_ I thought just before I kicked in the back door. Clueless One and Clueless Two never even registered the noise. A quick but thorough search revealed nothing out of the ordinary. That meant it was time to roust the lovebirds.

Miss Stanley occupied the backseat of the Cruiser as I followed Casanova out past the city limits. He knew never to come back. Renee would be pissed but I couldn't find it in me to care. Before I could drop the little slut at her house, a call came over the radio.

"Chief, you need to head over to the Mallory place. There's been another incident," Shawna said in a stressed voice.

I detoured and my Second met me before my door was open. Just like last night, all it had taken was a single look to convey something unnatural had happened. The Stanley girl was transferred to another Cruiser and escorted home. Carlisle pulled up as the other Cruiser left and the three of us went to look at our latest victim.

The only difference from the scene last night was Robert Mallory had security cameras that recorded everything. Bob gave me the disc that had the attack on it and while the remaining Officers and EMT's finished up here, our little triumvirate retired to my office back at the station. We watched in horror as Lauren Mallory was torn apart by a mountain lion. The way the camera had been angled, only the back of the animal could be seen. That was enough.

"The beast is obviously diseased. You can see its just skin and bones. There are patches of fur missing as well," the doctor observed.

Other than the type of animal involved, both attacks had been identical. The creature had taken pleasure in what it had done. They had managed to keep the first attack quiet, but something told me we wouldn't get lucky a second time.

As if responding to my errant thought, the local news reported both incidents. Within seconds, phones started ringing off their hooks. My cell phone rang and the mayor informed me that he already notified the Wildlife Service. By morning, the media outlets would be all over this. The last thing the situation needed was that kind of attention.


	5. Chapter 5

**Skins**

Ch. 5: A Kick in the Nuts and Rising Death Toll

JPOV

Rosalie and Alice had their girl time with Bella last night, and I knew Edward planned to ask her out when she got to school today; I needed to do a pre-emptive strike and put my plan into action. I watched as the enchanting human parked her blue Saab convertible in the space next to Rose's red BMW convertible. A quick scan of the parking lot told me that my brother wasn't around.

I was at the Saab in an instant and as soon as she had cut the engine, I opened her door and offered her my hand to help her out of the car. "Good mornin' Miss Bella, allow me the honor of assisting you," I drawled using every ounce of Southern charm at my disposal.

Bella placed her hand in mine and I gently pulled her out of her seat. A brief shot of disappointment passed through the girl when our skin touched. It felt like I was about to lose my chance, so I did the unthinkable. I used my power to bombard her with a tidal wave of lust. At first, she resisted but I increased the surge until it overpowered her. The human girl launched herself at me and kissed me.

That kiss contained enough passion to ignite the town and surrounding forest, but I hadn't felt it. The only thing I felt was an overwhelming sense of guilt for abusing Bella's trust. She had kept her eyes closed and when she finally broke the kiss a name slipped from her lips in a contented sigh.

"Alice," she whispered with a smile on her lips.

That was worse than just getting kicked when you were down, that was a kick to the nuts. Alice's silver-belled laugh echoed across the parking lot. Bella heard it too, her eyes snapped open, and her face blushed scarlet as she recalled what just happened. Her guilt augmented mine and it was too much to bare. I confessed my sin and was surprised when she had forgiven me.

Alice appeared and guided the brunette to her first class. I watched then smiled, genuinely happy my sister had found someone. _One down, two to go,_ I thought then hoped Edward would have the good grace to step aside as well. For some odd reason my stomach fluttered when I thought of him.

The rest of the day went by in a subdued manner. There had been an assembly and the students were told of the deaths of Tim Rowden and Lauren Mallory. We were advised to stay clear of the woods for the time being. At least until the animal responsible for the attacks was dealt with.

BPOV

I knew that I should've been pissed off about that stunt Jasper pulled, but it helped me realize that I was interested in Alice. She heard me breathe her name after I kissed her brother and she laughed. The pixie was at my side a second later and guided me toward my home room with her hand just touching the small of my back. As soon as we were alone, she pressed me against the wall and kissed me slowly.

"Mine," she purred when she pulled away. I had to remember how to breath for a minute.

I nodded and pulled her closer to me. There were still ten minutes before classes started and I wanted to make the most of them. Happily, my bewitching nymph agreed with the idea. Several of our fellow students had seen us in the compromising position, and be second period everyone knew. There was other news that lessened the impact of my new dating status.

Charlie called me at lunch to say that he would be home late. I told him about Alice and he had taken the news well. She invited me to her house after school to meet her parents. I guess Esme really wanted to meet me because Rosalie blabbed about my writing. Before he ended the call, he asked about the Saab. Rose had helped me come up with a convincing lie about the truck and why it needed to be replaced. Dad was a bit bummed but had gotten over it quick enough.

When the final bell sounded, Alice met me at the door of the class room and we walked to my Saab. The two of us and the rest of her siblings got in our cars and raced back to the Cullen mansion. Since I didn't know the way, I let my new girlfriend drive. The grin that spread across my face couldn't be helped; I was just too thrilled at mention of the word girlfriend.

The Cullen mansion was huge and had a cheery façade. It was as far cry from what most people would have thought a vampire lair to be, it they thought such things existed. Esme met us at the door and pulled me into a warm hug that made me smile.

I was given a brief tour then we all settled into the large family room. I guess Alice told her Charlie would be working late, because Esme had made me some garlic chicken and cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce along with a spinach salad with shaved parmesan and raspberry vinaigrette. I inhaled two helpings of each and thanked the motherly vampire profusely.

Carlisle came home while I ate. Alice and I were curled up on a love seat, Rose and Emmett occupied the couch and had a movie playing softly in the background. Jasper and Edward were on the floor playing chess and Carlisle sat in the chair opposite us with Esme perched on one of its arms. It felt right to be like that, just like a real family sharing time together.

Esme asked me all about my writing. She even loved the illuminated manuscript of my first book that I had let Rosalie borrow. It appeared that both women had spent the night reading it. I told her all about how I missed having a workshop that I could make my manuscripts in and was flattered when she offered to make a space for me at the mansion to use whenever the mood struck.

The lightness of our mood was shattered when the news made a special report about four more animal attacks. Students Eric Yorke and Tyler Crowley had been found mauled near First Beach on the La Push Reservation; Mr. Reed the Chief Loan Officer at Forks Bank had been found in a similar state near his car parked in the back of the bank; and finally, Karen Stevens, a single mother, was found mauled in the woods near her apartment complex. Carlisle headed back to the Hospital to help out when the bodies arrived.

Something wasn't right about all these attacks. Charlie hadn't given me any details and at the time, I thanked him for it. Now, I needed more information. At first, nobody wanted to offer up any more details. Finally, Jasper told me about what Carlisle witnessed on the security video from Lauren's.

Her blood ran cold and mind rebelled against what I heard. Logic told me the improbability of what the facts pointed to. I told the others that I wanted to be home when Charlie arrived and quickly left. The ride home went by in a blur.

I ran into the house and changed clothes. After I went back down stairs, I wrote a hasty note to my dad:

**Charlie, not attacks but murders. Connect the dots. Be back later, if I survive. Bella.**

I grabbed the innocuous bag from the bottom of the hall way closet and bolted out the door. My Saab was headed toward the mountains a minute later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Skins**

Ch. 6: Nine Days

APOV

I had passed worried and was nearly past the border of hysterical. Bella had been missing for the past nine days. Nobody had seen her since she left our house over a week ago. At first, I thought she might have gone to visit her mother, but Charlie said that Renee hadn't seen the girl either. The only thing that had kept me sane this long is that her dead body hadn't been found.

The most infuriating part of the whole mess was Charlie Swan. Despite the obvious concern for his daughter in his eyes, he continually ignored my entreaties to organize search parties. He cited the ongoing animal attacks as the reason. Three more attacks happened since Bella disappeared.

"GOD DAMN IT CHARLIE, SHE IS YOUR DAUGHTER," I screamed as I paced back and fourth at vampire speed in his living room. I had wanted to be there in case Bella came home safely.

"I can't interfere, Alice," he admitted softly in defeat.

My pacing stopped and I looked at the older human incredulously. Before I could speak, Charlie looked at me. Something in his gaze gave the impression that he was sizing me up. The concern for his daughter that had haunted his eyes for the past nine days was replaced with…hope.

"Do you love her, Alice," he asked while his eyes examined mine.

"Yes," I replied truthfully without any hesitation. I had tried not to fall for the other girl when my visions couldn't show me who she would end up with. Unfortunately, my resolve shattered the second I had met her. When she chose me, it was the happiest moment of my existence.

Charlie nodded at my sincerity and explained, "You can help her. There is a valley nestled halfway up the mountains. In the middle of it is an ancient Ash tree by a stream. That is where Bella went. You might have to stay up there overnight so take the rucksack on Bella's bed with you. Hurry."

I knew the valley he described because I had found it during one of my family's regular hunting trips. I dashed up to Bella's room, threw the rucksack over my shoulders then fled the house through her bedroom window. Once in the forest, I ran faster than I had ever ran before. Each second was precious because I understood that my love's life hung in the balance.

Five minutes later, the scent of Bella's blood reached me. I founder her crumpled on the ground near the Ash with blood coming out of holes in her hands and feet. My eyes drifted to the tree and a growl escaped my throat when I noticed the three bloody nails in its trunk. BELLA HAD BEEN CRUCIFIED!

BPOV

_"For nine days I hung on the Tree. A sacrifice, myself to myself; and none gave me food and none gave me water…"_

After nine days of being crucified to the Ash, I had transcended pain, hunger and thirst. My fleshly body had been pierced and broken but my soul endured. About a half hour ago, a fog rolled into the valley and pooled around the tree. Colors swirled in the mist and in its depths, I saw it. With what little strength remained in my body, I tore myself from the nails and grasped it as I fell to the ground.

_It's done, _I thought exhaustedly. It was only a matter of time before shock set in and I passed out. With agonizing slowness, I crawled to the stream and let the water rinse my wounds. Alice appeared out of the remaining fog and I thought she was a hallucination at first.

After she growled at the tree, she pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed my grimy forehead. She let go of me long enough to scour the area for wood then made a fire. The next thing I knew, she had be next to the fire and was treating my wounds. I tried to protest that it wasn't necessary, but she nagged me into submission. I wasn't in any shape to argue, anyway.

It was obvious that she was pissed about both my unexplained absence and the current state I was in. Thankfully, I was spared any arguments for the moment, but part of me knew there would be hell to pay once we were safely back in civilization. Until then, I allowed myself to enjoy her tender mercies. The stress of the last nine days washed over me and I drifted to sleep in Alice's arms.

APOV

"Thank you, to whatever divine power that kept her alive all this time," I whispered and pulled the sleeping girl closer to me. I hummed absentmindedly as I stared into the fire.

An old man dressed like an Old West mountain man walked materialized and the edge of the firelight. "Might I join you for a time," he asked as the flames danced in his one good eye. The other was covered with an ornate leather patch.

He sat down without waiting for an invitation and warmed his hands by the fire. I watched him cautiously incase he tried something. "You've both served me well. No harm shall come to you," he stated with authority and I felt myself relax.


	7. Chapter 7

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and its characters._

**AN: Sorry this chapter is short, I'm not trying to be a tease, honestly.**

Ch. 7: Ulfheonar

APOV

My eyes snapped open just before dawn. _What the fuck,_ I wondered as I looked around for any sign of the old man. He was nowhere around and to make matters worse, I had lost several hours. It was like those insane alien abduction stories you hear about on Coast to Coast; one minute I watched the old man appear out of nowhere and he tells me to relax, the next thing I know its hours later and I have no memory of what happened. It wouldn't have surprised me if Whitley Streiber walked out of the forest to ask about the Little Grey Men.

A pain in my chest brought my gaze down. I noticed that my shirt had been unbuttoned and a small tattoo on the sore area. That hadn't been there before and it was impossible for vampires to get tattooed, yet evidence to the contrary had been etched on my marble flesh. I would've freaked out but movement drew my attention to my lap.

Bella head was in my lap and she had just rolled onto her side. Her warm breath caressed my thigh which made rational thought useless. She mumbled my name in her sleep as she nuzzled her head further into my lap. My mind screamed a million miles an hour in a direction that it was neither the time nor place for. I needed to move so that I could think clearly.

Gently, I placed her head on the rolled up remnants of her shirt. The movement woke the sleeping beauty up. She sat up groggily and looked around. A smile crossed her lips when she finally saw me. There were dark circles under her eyes and the effects of lack of food and water were evident in her gaunt features. The smile faltered when she noticed my frown. The last nine days hit me all at once and all my worry and anger were unleashed on the wounded girl.

"Dammit Bella, what the Hell happened? Who did this to you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been, do you even care? What the fuck is going on," I vented hysterically as I flashed around our campsite.

Bella raised her hands in placating gesture. "I'm sorry, Alice. I never meant to hurt you but things escalated too quickly to just ignore them. As a result, I had to speed up my time table. I'll tell you everything, but first I need to clean up," she appealed and I calmed down.

She stumbled over to the stream, took off the bandages on her hands and feet, and then soaked them in the cool water. I made my way to her side so that I could apply new bandages, when I gasped in shock. As she pulled each of her extremities from the water, the wounds closed and left no hint they had ever been there in the first place.

Bella giggled at my expression and went back to the fire. After a few seconds of searching, she found the rucksack I had brought and pulled an ornately carved wooden box from the bottom. She motioned for me to sit next to the fire and opened the box once I complied. Inside was a beautiful woven belt. The top side of the belt had some kind of fur, while the bottom was just like any other leather belt.

Reverently, she removed the belt and wrapped it around her waist. Instead of a normal buckle, the end of the belt held twin silver loops that "male" end was laced through. Bella adjusted the belt so that it hung loosely at her hips. With a devilish glint in her eyes, she cinched the belt tight about her waist. The air vibrated with power and once more I stared in shock.

Where Bella, my exquisite Bella, had once stood there was now a chocolate brown wolf the size of a small pony. The Bella-wolf danced around for a couple of minutes before she sat on her haunches in front of me, her tongue lolling out the side of a wolfy grin. I sat there in mute awe blinking rapidly to jumpstart my addled brain. I was snapped back to reality when her tongue licked from my left jaw to my temple.

"Bad Bella," I choked out as I smacked her nose. She huffed and took a playful nip at my fingers.

I slowly reached out with my hands and ran them through her silky fur. She leaned forward and rested her head on my shoulder. A contented rumble came from her as I continued to explore her new form. My head should've exploded by now, but strangely, I was fine. Underneath the awe and happiness that Bella was alive, I was curious. One of my hands found the edge of the belt and I instinctively tugged it loose.

There was another surge of power and Bella was cocooned in my granite embrace. "I'm Ulfheonar," she whispered in my ear then kissed my neck.

I pulled back so that I could look in her eyes. "What," I queried.

She laughed and pulled herself from my arms. "Maybe I should've used the more common name for my kith, Berserker. Now if you don't mind, I'm starving," she commented with a smile as she skipped in the direction of home.

_What the fuck,_ I wondered as I watched her form disappear into the trees. That girl had some serious explaining to do. With the rucksack slung over my shoulders, I went after the retreating wolf-girl before she got too far away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Twilight._

Ch. 8: History Lesson

BPOV

Alice and I made it back to my Saab and I tossed her the keys. Every couple of minutes, I caught her stealing glances at me. Sometimes she appeared to examine me for any other damage from my recent situation. Other times, her expression held hurt and anger. Serious groveling and apologizing would be required in the near future to get back into my Nymph's good graces.

All of my heart that I could give had been broken as those emotions radiated off her. There was so much that she needed to know, not just about me but herself as well. At the moment, my thoughts were still jumbled on those subjects. I was in desperate need of a shower, while my body screamed to collapse into a Healing Sleep. For the duration of the ride back to my house, I kept telling her how much I loved her and how sorry I was.

Alice called Charlie to let him know we were on our way, then her family to meet us at Charlie's. I swayed a little when I got out of the car at the house. The pixie vampire flitted to my side and helped me get in the front door. I knew from the cars out front that it would be a full house. We were greeted by Charlie, Shawna and Dana Roberts and the rest of the Cullen's as we hobbled through the door.

I waved half-heartedly to the throng and stumbled my way up the stairs amid cries of protest. Not a fiber of my being had the energy to give a crap when the promise of a hot shower was just a few feet away. In the back of my mind, an escape plan formed so that I didn't need to deal with the others once I cleaned up. It was a selfish thought, but I didn't know how long the Healing could be held off.

APOV

I placated the others as Bella trudged up the stairs. They'd all seen the state she'd been in when we came in and were willing to let her behavior slide. When the vision of her sneaking away after her shower had come, I was pissed. So I ran up to her room at vampire speed and grabbed her wolf-belt, then searched her room and found another ornate box under her bed. I snatched that up as well and silently crept back downstairs.

Charlie laughed when he noticed what I'd carried down with me. I found a spot on the couch and fell into it. Before anyone started to ask the inevitable questions, the front door burst open and petite woman with long brown hair pulled back into a braided pony-tail charged inside.

"CHARLES ERIK SWAN, WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER," she screamed and Charlie flinched. The murderous look in her eyes made me want to flinch too.

RePOV

"Bella's upstairs in the shower, Renee," my ex-husband said simply and pointed toward the stairs.

My fear and anger had given me tunnel vision and now that I knew my baby was home safe, the rest of my surroundings came into focus. Seven vampires and two humans with powerful auras sat around the living room as if they waited for something. I smiled sheepishly at them until I noticed the petite, nymph like one.

Her shirt was partially unbuttoned and I noticed the Bond Mark and Bella's wolf-strap was in her delicate hands. She absently stroked it and I noticed the love in her eyes as she watched the stairs for my daughter's return. Charlie cleared his throat and drew my attention back to him.

He introduced me around the room and left the nymph for last. "This is Alice. She's the one that found Bella and brought her home," he introduced.

I kissed Alice on the forehead and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Welcome to the family, sweetie," I said softly and let her go.

The door to the bathroom opened then the one to Bella's room shut, seconds later.

We heard her rummage around for clothes then all went silent. "Crap," her muffled exclamation filtered to down to us along with the sounds of frantic searching.

Alice smiled then yelled, "ISABELLA MARIE SWAN, YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO PLOT AN ESCAPE. NOW GET YOUR WOLFY ASS DOWN HERE AND START EXPLAINING."

I watched as my baby solemnly trudged down the stairs and I almost heard the funeral dirge as she did it. A giggle came out and Bella's head snapped over to me then paled. Any mirth in my facial features had been replaced with hurt. She looked down in shame and made her way into the living room.

BPOV

I glanced at the assembly in the living room and inhaled deeply. When my eyes met Alice's, I faltered. She deserved to know the truth but part of me was afraid she'd leave once she found out.

"Start with the Ulfheonar, please," she directed gently. At the puzzled looks from the others, I nodded.

"The Ulfheonar lived in only the most rugged places in the lands of the Teutonic/Germanic tribes. They lived in harmony with the land despite the harsh conditions. From the beginning, magic flowed through our blood. Our name comes from just a small manifestation of that magic. You see, because they were so attuned to nature, they learned how to use their magic to take on the form of animals.

"This was accomplished by turning a part an animal hide into an article of clothing. Usually a belt or girdle, but could be a cloak or something else. The most common animals used in such creations were wolves and bears. Those animals sacred to the Gods and Goddesses were also used.

"As the years past, the Ulfheonar became famous as warriors. The ability to take on animal, or near animal, form and enter into a battle frenzy earned my people the nickname, Berserkers. The Ulfheonar Warriors were the elite, more than a few Chieftains kept at least two as bodyguards and shock troops. The twelve most powerful were known as the Berserkergang, and were the personal guards of the Kings of Norway.

"They say that power corrupts and my people learned this lesson well. A few among them reveled in the magic and freedom of the change, as well as the fear they inspired. These degenerates killed friend and foe alike without remorse. Their excesses became so bad that the King of Norway outlawed the Ulfheonar in 1015. The Christian priests used the opportunity well.

"The bastards claimed we sold our souls to Satan in exchange for straps that turned us into wolves. We roamed the countryside devouring the Faithful at his bidding. These lies are still propagated to this day in some areas and have overshadowed the truth.

"The Ulfheonar fled their homes and scattered throughout Europe. Some families followed Erik the Red to Iceland; and his son, Leif to Greenland and Vineland. Most returned when the Viking settlements here failed; those that stayed behind kept well hidden. The next wave of migration came in 1587, John White hadn't known that the bulk of his people were Ulfheonar," I explained but was interrupted by Carlisle.

"The lost colony of Roanoke," he whispered in awe while Charlie and Renee nodded.

I went on, "The New World became our haven and many of our people migrated here. For centuries, we lived safely in the wild areas. Eventually civilization advanced too far and we once more had to live among the Outsiders. Today, we live in private communities throughout North America."

"As I told Alice and Rosalie, when children reach thirteen, they are offered the choice to become full Ulfheonar or not. Those that embrace their heritage are taught to make a strap then undergo their first change. It is a test. Those that can master the strap without becoming addicted to the power are then fostered by another member of the Community and trained in our ways and are considered adults.

"My tattoo, the downward pointing crescent moon over a wooden shield with a spear bisecting them, shows that I also made the choice to be a Defender of my people. My foster mother was a Shield Maiden and trained me to fight as well as what it meant to be Ulfheonar.

"At fifteen, you become a full member of the Community but do not have the full use of your magic. That only comes after you undergo an Ordeal. Not all chose that path. The Ordeal is specific for each person and can be as simple as a Vision Quest or as dangerous as facing a True Werewolf alone, armed only with a knife.

"Mine was the most deadly of them all; it had to be once I knew what we dealt with. The All-Father, Odin, crucified himself to the World Tree for nine days and nights. During that time, nobody brought him food nor water. On the last day he spied the Runes swirling in the mist and tore his hand free then snatched their power up.

"I sacrificed myself in the same manner and survived. The gifts I snatched from the mist unexpected. It will take time to adjust but hopefully I'll have enough control to deal with our killers," I finished.

The others stared at me slack-jawed and I waited for the questions to come. Renee brought me a heaping plateful of scrambled eggs with a side of bacon and some orange juice. I inhaled the food and finished my drink.

Alice recovered first and told me about our visitor then asked, "What does the tattoo mean and how did I get it?"

"The old man was the All-Father. He placed the tattoos on both us to show that we are Bonded; Soul Mates, if you will. It also means, love, that you were Ulfheonar when you were human. When I was a child, it was foretold that I would be bonded to a powerful Seer and that they would be one of the Lost Ones. Descendents of families we had lost track of," I replied and she nodded because somewhere locked inside her, she'd known this.

"Bells, what are we up against," Shawna inquired.

"Every culture has shapeshifters. In the South West, they are called Skin Walkers. Witches who seek to spread evil and disease; similar to us, they use skins to take on animal form. From the description of the cat that attacked Lauren and the shear number of attacks, I believe we're dealing with at least two Skin Walkers," I responded.

I started to sway as my body began to shut down. Charlie suggested we finish the conversation another time. He and Renee saw the others out while Alice helped me up to my room.

With unsteady limbs, I stripped down to my panties and crawled under the covers. I asked Alice to stay with me and she followed my lead. After her clothes hit the floor, she slid behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I snuggled into her and let the Healing Sleep overtake me. Just before it claimed me, Alice whispered in my ear.

APOV

Once Bella snuggled closer into me, I knew she would be out in seconds. I chuckled softly and whispered, "Someday we are going to need to consummate this relationship."

"Mkay," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

I spent the rest of the night holding her close and thought of what she said earlier. When morning dawned, I disengaged myself from my love, dressed, and then went down to talk to Renee in the kitchen. Last night raised a few more questions for me and I somehow knew that Bella wouldn't wake up for at least another day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I'm not SM._

**AN: I thought after two chapters of back story, I'd give the poor citizens of Forks a break from the killings and Alice and Bella a little alone time. Enjoy.**

Ch. 9: Christmas Surprise

APOV

I watched the caged raven out of the corner of my eye as I continued to pack for the trip. Usually, Bella goes to Nova Scotia to spend the holidays with Renee. Every other year Charlie joins them. This year was to be different; the two of us were going away together. Both our families would join us for New Years, though.

Renee and Esme came into my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and let me know that the final arrangements had been made. They noticed the raven and giggled before the each kissed my cheek and left. Both sets of parents had gotten closer since Bella's Ordeal. The same was true for everyone that had been there that night.

All of us had spent Thanksgiving in Estes Park, Colorado. The Elders of Erikson Estates had rented out the Stanley Hotel for the week. They had wanted to meet me and the others and learn more about the Skin Walker attacks. Emmett had been freaked out because the hotel had been the inspiration for The Shining.

This was the first holiday we went our separate ways. Carlisle, Esme, Charlie and Renee were going to spend Christmas at our home in Alaska. Jasper and Edward planned some alone time on Isle Esme. While Rose and Emmett, who adopted the Ulfheonar way of life like me, were already in Arizona learning more about the Community.

With an exasperated sigh, I decided to take pity on the bird and removed the cage from the base. I went back to close one of the suitcases when the raven landed on the bed beside me. My right hand brushed along its black feathers until it reached the seam at its neck. A gentle tug loosened the collar and a repentant Bella replaced it.

"Silly Bella, didn't anyone teach you never to spy on a Seer," I chided in mock indignation.

"I'm sorry, baby, but I hate surprises. You know this," she whined then sighed. "The truth is that I'm nervous. This is going to be our first time and after all the build up, I don't want to disappoint you" Bella admitted sheepishly.

My eyes soften as I pulled the brunette into a loving embrace. "You will never disappoint me, love. But if it makes you feel better, I'm a little nervous myself. I want this to be perfect. At least we won't have to worry about a repeat of our first attempt," I breathed into her ears soothingly. We both shivered as we thought back to the events that happened on our first date.

_***Flashback: Three nights after Bella's Ordeal***_

___I'd asked Bella out on a date and she gladly accepted. We decided on going to a movie and after much deliberation, chose to see a comedy. I bought tickets for a triple feature of all three Underworld movies while my mate went to the Concession Stand for nachos and large coke._

_In between laughing fits at what was going on the screen, our heavy make out sessions had gotten us all hot and bothered. "I need you inside me, baby, please," she moaned in my ear as I had nuzzled her neck. We skipped out on the rest of the movies and raced back to Bella's. Charlie had taken Renee to the Robert's for dinner, so the house was currently empty._

_We burst through the door only to be assaulted by Charlie's gasps of pleasure as Renee deep throated him. With a strangled cry of frustration, Bella spun back out the door and bolted for my Porsche. My right hand cupped her mound through her jeans and ground into her as I drove. I wanted her dripping when we reached my house._

_I'd thrown the car into park after I pulled into the garage. Both of us were in a near frenzy when our moods were shattered beyond repair. A slapping and grunting drew our attention to the far side of the building._

_Jasper had Edward bent over the hood of the Vanquish, his rigid member forcefully thrusting in and out of Eddie's ass. "Give me a Rebel Yell, Yankee," he demanded and the bronze haired vampire screamed out in pleasure. I'd always figured Edward would be a Bottom._

_Bella fled inside with me right behind her. We sat in shocked silence on the couch. Every now and then, a shiver would go down both our spines. My family came home from hunting just in time to hear the action in the garage get more intense. Jasper finally climaxed after crushing the front end of the Aston Martin, which in turn had set off the car alarm._

_***End of Flashback***_

The next time we had an opportunity to try again had been over Thanksgiving. My siblings found it amusing to cockblock us for the entire week. Now that things have calmed down, at least around Forks as our Skin Walkers appeared to be lying low, it was the perfect time to try again. I'd bought us a house on the Northern tip of Roanoke Island and that was our surprise destination. Esme had made quick work of the renovations while Renee had made sure that all the hand made pieces of future would be ready on time.

I instructed Bella to grab one of the bags and follow me out to the car. In no time at all, we were speeding through the streets of Forks on our way to the airport in Seattle. Carlisle had already printed off our boarding passes, so my love still had no clue where we were headed. Once the plane was in the air, I told her where we would spend our alone time. She snuggled into my side and breathed a relaxed sigh, for the next two weeks, all we needed to concentrate on was us.

BPOV

When the plane landed, Alice asked me to get the luggage and meet her at the curb. I stepped outside and noticed that she'd rented a Jaguar. The bags safely in the trunk and me securely fastened into my seat, the petite nymph drove us out to the Island.

We stopped in front of a very beautiful two story house on the Northern most point of Roanoke Island. The temperature was dropping fast, so Alice rushed me inside. She had hired a service to come in and stock the kitchen; they also made sure a fire blazed in the fireplace. The raven haired vampire ran our suitcases upstairs while I warmed myself in front of the fire. The two bearskin rugs before the fireplace felt good under my bare feet once I kicked off my shoes.

Alice ghosted up behind me and wrapped me in her arms. Her sweet breath on the back of my neck made me weak in the knees. They buckled and slowly she lowered both of us to the floor. She turned me around so that I could see the desire that burned in her now black eyes.

Without realizing it, we had both become naked and her lips crashed into mine. Alice kissed her way along my jaw to the side of my neck. She nipped, licked and kissed the skin there. My moan of pleasure caused her to purr, the vibrations increased my ecstasy. Her left hand traveled down my body and as it reached the apex of my sex, my legs spread to grant her access.

It was finally going to happen. "Oh God, Alice, now; please now," I whimpered with need. Her hand started to continue its journey, my core dripped as she prolonged the anticipation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: Pay no attention to the guy behind the curtain. SM owns Twilight._

**AN: Sorry this is a short chapter, but the next one will make up for it.**

Ch. 10: Connecting the Dots and Laying Bait

ChPOV

The holidays were over with and it had been time to get back to work. Renee and I decided to give marriage another try, this time on our own terms. We were married on New Year's Day and honeymooned at her vacation home in Nova Scotia. It was a long distance marriage, but since Bella's Ordeal, our budding relationship had worked. She needed to get by to Arizona to finish up her Spring Collection. I'd fly out and spend a week over Valentine's Day.

Carlisle, Shawna and I were ensconced in my office. The attacks had started up again on January 4th. Ben Cheney had been mauled to death and his girlfriend was possibly worse off. Sweet Angela Webber had deep claw marks over ninety percent of her body that would leave horrific scars. To add insult to injury, the sadistic fucking Skinwalker raped her while still in animal form. Needless to say, the DNA was useless.

After reviewing all the case files, we hadn't needed the DNA. All of the students that had been killed had one thing in common. At various points, according to Bella, they had all pissed off Mike Newton for one reason or another. Looked at the adults, eventually we found they were all connected to Newton's father. The banker had refused to give him a loan. The single mother had claimed they had an affair and he was the father of her kid, and the others were all business competitors from the surrounding communities.

The three of us attempted to come up with a plan to get solid evidence. So far, everything we thought of would be inadmissible in a Court of Law. After a couple of hours, we decided to adjourn and gather our entire Clan at Shawna's place. Dana had made some Chicken Creole and dirty rice for dinner and we humans were starved.

Everyone arrived at the Roberts' place in short order and the humans happily ate the piping hot meal. When the food was gone, I explained everything that we had learned and opened the floor for suggestions on how to proceed.

Bella cleared her throat. When all eyes were on her, she took a deep breath and spoke, "There is only one way to draw these sick bastards into the open. We need to offer up some bait. If Mike is one of the Skinwalkers, and so far, all roads lead to him, then we know he's interested in me. Therefore, I will be the bait."

To say that Alice was upset would've been an understatement. After an intense shouting match, the pixie like vampire acquiesced but nobody was fooled. They would continue the argument when they were alone. Tentatively the plan was to dangle the bait in front of the Newton kid in two days.


	11. Chapter 11

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I just realized that it's infinitely more satisfying playing with other's stuff than just my own._

Ch. 11: Wolf in Tramp's Clothing

APOV

I wasn't a happy vampire. No, I wasn't a happy vampire at all. For the past two days, Bella and I argued about her insane plan to act as bait for the jerk-off, Mike Newton. Just because she received immortality as one of the gifts from her Ordeal, didn't mean she couldn't get hurt. She was too stubborn and wouldn't change her mind.

Nothing I'd said or done had changed her decision, not even sex. I think that was the one that shocked me the most. Ever since Christmas, I've been able to get what I wanted after giving my baby a night of really good lovin'. Despite her continued reassurance that she knew what she was doing, I was scared.

Bella walked into the room in nothing but a towel. Her wet hair dripped on her bare shoulders and down her back. She took one look at me and noticed my distress. In less than a nanosecond, her warm arms wrapped around my stone cold body. One of her hands ghosted up my spine to gently massage my scalp.

"I love you, and only you. I would sooner die than be without you, because a life without you would be nothing. Never forget that," she soothed.

Her words eased a fear I hadn't given voice to. One she seemed to know about, instinctively. While my greatest fear was her getting hurt, another was that she would leave me for someone that could give her the one thing I couldn't, a child. She kissed my temple then kissed her way down my cheek to my lips. All the while she maneuvered us backwards.

The next think that registered in my mind was being naked in bed with the woman I loved. What portions of my fear her words hadn't alleviated, her lips, tongue and fingers melted away; stupid sexy wolf-girl. I still wasn't a happy vampire, but I was sated one.

We still needed to get ready for school, so I went off to shower while Bella got dressed. When I came back into our room, the sight before me made my arousal fill the room again. Bella was standing there in a red and black plaid mini skirt that barely covered her toned ass with a matching bra, an unbuttoned white dress shirt that was tied at the bottom, white ankle socks with lace trim and five inch, black, come-fuck-me heels. She had her hair done in pigtails and bright red, glossy, lipstick on her lips.

"No fucking way, you're not wearing that to school! You may want to be all noble and act like bait but you don't need to look like you'll bend over and give him easy access," I fumed and noticed how my last words hurt her.

"I'm sorry, that was out of line," I stammered as she pulled me into hug.

"No, I'm sorry, love. My mind has viewed this as a hunt and has been in predator mode thinking of the best way to attract my prey. I wasn't thinking about how it would look to you. Forgive me, please," she whispered into my ear.

I let out an exasperated sigh, "I bought that for you to wear for me, now I'll have to get you a different outfit. That one is getting burned when we get home."

Bella giggled and I finished getting dressed. We drove to school in my Porsche and I mentally prepared myself for what was to come. Every boy stared lustfully at my mate as she exited the car. This was soooo going to be a bad day. I needed to play my part, so I got out and said my line loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Fine, be that way. You can be a real bitch sometimes," I huffed then stormed off to where my family waited for me.

Rosalie observed my approach with a critical eye. Vampires were hyper-territorial, Bella offering herself up the way she was tripped every possessive instinct I had. She sat on top of a picnic table that was furthest from the mass of students. Emmett was on her left and she leaned on his right shoulder. Jasper and Edward were on the other side of the table, cuddling. I sat down on the bench in front of my sister and tried to reign in my emotions.

Mike was watching Bella's every move while I kept my eyes on his. If he so much as twitched funny, I'd take it out of his ass. A wave of calm shot out from Jasper which made me relax. The hard part hadn't even happened yet and already he needed to use his power on me. My Ulfheonar stopped when she reached the group Mike was hanging out with. Rosalie's hands grasped my shoulders tightly which prevented me from interfering with the plan.

"Hey, Bella, trouble in paradise," Mr. Short Life Expectancy practically sneered as he looked at me.

I gave a low growl and nothing Jasper did helped me. It wasn't until I unconsciously brushed a finger over the area of my Bond tattoo that I started to relax.

Bella laughed before she replied, "Not really. I mean, I love her to death but sometimes I feel like something is missing."

"I got what's missing right here, babe. All you got to do is ask and I'll give it to you," the soon to be eunuch stated boldly then rubbed his crotch.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that in the near future," she giggled back and walked toward the picnic table we were at.

BPOV

It felt like my soul was getting shredded as I set my snare flirting with Mike. Just him looking at me made me want to take a shower to clean myself. I put a little extra sway in my hips as I moved from Mike's group to where my Soul Mate waited with our family. Alice cocked an eyebrow and gave a saucy little smile because she knew I added that for her benefit.

"You think he swallowed the bait," I whispered as soon as I reached the table.

"Hook, line and sinker, sis. Hey, can I borrow that outfit sometime, I haven't played dress-up for my Monkey-man in a while," Rosalie commented while her husband's eyes lit up with anticipation.

"You can have it. There's no way I'd enjoy it now that Mr. Two-inch Wonder drooled over it," Alice replied a touch miffed.

I made arrangements for Rose to stop by tonight to get it then motioned for Alice to follow me to the tree line. Just past the first row of trees, I spun a pulled the pixie into a passionate kiss. Every feeling I had for her was put into and we both were panting when we broke apart.

In a snap decision, I knelt before her and held her left hand. Her eyes started to glaze over but stopped quickly. She gazed in my eyes and waited.

"We may be Bonded but there is still something missing, which I want taken care of when all of this is over. Mary Alice Brandon Cullen, will you marry me," I asked the love of my existence.

"Not like this. Ask me again once this mess is taken care of, and you'd better have a ring with a diamond no less than four carats after making me even remotely think about that _thing_ touching you," She said in a pained voice that tore at my heart. Then she bolted back the way we came.

I stood up and started to follow her when Emmett's bulky form blocked my path. He was shaking his head while he laughed.

"Dude, you totally got dissed, then dismissed. You should've waited until tonight, at the very least," he said in a tone of someone who'd been there, done that.

"I know, but at least she'll say yes when the time is right," I sighed as I walked with Emmett back to the school.

While I still felt like crap for coming up with this idiotic plan and had second thoughts about it, part of me wondered just how long it would take Mike to jump at the bait. I noticed the psycho beckoned me over as soon as he'd seen me. I guessed it wouldn't be long at all.

MPOV

I'd watched Bella drag her dyke lover into the woods, and probably gave her the what's what speech. Alice had come back a couple of minutes later a bit upset. Her Amazon sister walked her into the school. The 'roid popping Cullen stepped out of the trees with Bella; this was my chance to cull her from the herd. So I motioned her over.

"Hey Bella, you look like you could use a friend," I called out as she stopped next to me. She smiled glumly and nodded.

"How about I take you out tomorrow, just as friends," I asked, not caring if she said yes or not because after tomorrow night she'd be mine.

Again she nodded almost as if she didn't want to seem overeager but it was there in her eyes. She was so hot for me; there was no way I wouldn't tap that after our date. I patted her ass when she walked past me into the school.

I couldn't wait; tomorrow night was going to be awesome. The hottest piece of ass in this town would be screaming my name soon.


	12. Chapter 12

**Skins**

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update. I know this is pretty short but think of it as a teaser for Ch. 13.**

Ch. 12: Betrayed

BPOV

I felt like such a douche for proposing to Alice the way I had. The only defense I had was that I needed her to know how important she was to me. My timing had been complete shit; I wish my rational side would've jumped in to stop me. The searing pain in my heart from hurting the woman I love was crippling. It was so bad that I had to leave school. Alice found me curled up in the fetal position, bawling when school had let out.

"Shhh, everything is fine. I know you're in Warrior mode at the moment and it's common for warriors to want to marry those they love before they're shipped off to battle. The difference is that this battle involves you trying to seduce an enemy into exposing himself. You'll make it up to me, when the time is right," my mate soothed.

It wasn't long after I calmed down and cleaned myself up, that the Devil himself called. Mike decided that he wanted to take me to dinner tonight, instead of tomorrow night. His arrogance that I'd be willing to go out now would be his undoing. I agreed, and we resolved to meet up at the Tiger Lilly, the only Chinese restaurant in Port Angeles. There was just enough time to shower then change before I needed to head out.

Alice had called the others so they knew that the timetable for this little operation had been pushed up. I kissed her cheek in reassurance that everything was going according to plan then headed for my Saab.

I heard a soft pop then felt a sting in my side before I had made it to my car. My eyes were barely able to focus on the dart that stuck from my side, and then knock it to the ground before my knees buckled. Movement drew my increasingly fuzzy attention. Cormack St. Clair stepped from the shadows with a sneer.

"Bella, darlin', dinna take this personally, but yer skinwalker took my duster. I'll get it back once I safely deliver ya to him, minus any straps ya might be wearin'," he said unrepentantly as darkness finally claimed me.

I don't know how long I had been unconscious but when I awoke a few things were pretty clear. One, I was hanging from my wrists. Two, I wasn't wearing any clothes. Finally, Cormack was being handed his duster by an overly enthusiastic Mike Newton.

"Good, you're back with us. I was afraid I'd have to start my fun while you were still knocked out," the sick fuck cackled in anticipation.


	13. Chapter 13

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

Ch. 13: Comedy of Errors

APOV

I was pissed as I watched the asshole, Cormack, strip an unconscious Bella then place her in the trunk of his car. Every instinct I had screamed for me to rush out there to kill the bastard in order to protect my mate. Nearly sixty years of denying my urges helped me, with some difficulty, remain stationary. As soon as his car was out of site, I grabbed the carry-on bag that was hidden in the hall closet and ran in the direction of Seattle to catch my flight. I was meeting Renee in Paris for the launch of her Spring Line.

While I was upset about throwing Bella under the bus, she needed to learn a lesson. We were Bonded, Soul Mates, and if our relationship was going to continue to grow and thrive, then it needed to be an equal partnership. Bella couldn't just decide on a course of action without fully considering my input, which was a prickish, Edward thing to do. As much as I loved my brother, there were times when he would make arbitrary decisions for our family without any consideration for the rest of us.

My heart swelled with pride that my Bella was a defender and had taken charge of the situation. The idea of dangling bait to entrap Newton had merit to it. However, her insistence on using herself as the bait and offering up a one-sided plan without taking anyone else's thoughts on contingencies pissed me off. Part of me understood that that had just been the natural leader in her coming out.

With the others present, I bit my tongue and gave in but I thought she would at least have heard me out in private. She never listened, just reminded me that she knew what she was doing and we all needed to follow instructions. I wasn't some peon to blindly follow her orders without question; I was a Seer as well as her mate, my opinions should've mattered to her.

I boarded my flight and waited for take off. The lyrics to the song, _Leaving on a Jet Plane_ breezed through my mind as the aircraft had begun to taxi down the runway. Venom pooled in my eyes and I would've cried if I could.

BPOV

The lust and madness in Mike's eyes as he leered at me made me want to puke. The sick fucker was honestly stupid enough to believe the manacles and chains would hold me, even if they did there was no way he'd have gotten close enough to ease his mounting desire. Even Cormack looked smug at my current predicament. My anger ratcheted up when Newton offered the Selkie some playtime with me when he had finished his.

The two would-be rapists were too busy trailing their eyes from my tits to my crotch that the never noticed my hand. I guess it's true that guys are easily distracted. The nails of my middle fingers cut into the pads of my thumbs which caused blood to well up. I rubbed the precious fluid along as much of the chain as I could reach then my mind focused on the spell to free me. Runes blazed in my mind and the chains dissolved, then I launched myself Newton because he was closer.

My full weight smashed into the killer and we crashed into the floor. I grabbed his head and smashed it into the floor a couple of times before he recovered enough to throw me off him. Cormack fled like the coward he was. Mike was able to pick up a baseball bat as he went into a defensive position. The two of us circled each other while we looked for an opening.

When my back was to the only door, I felt a sharp pain as razor sharp claws raked down my back. My knees buckled and Mike used that to make his attack. The bat connected with the ribs on my left side then knocked me to the right. Three ribs had broken under the force of the blow. Fortunately for me, I was knocked out of the way of my second opponent's next attack. Now, I faced both of them, Mike on my right and a sickly mountain lion on my left.

The broken ribs made breathing difficult but I focused past the pain. There would be plenty of time to bleed and hurt when this was over. My eyes darted back and forth between the two as I waited for the inevitable attack. A streak of white pounced on the mountain lion taking it out of the action; this left it back at being just Mike and me.

His sneer as he watched me struggle with my ribs sent me over the edge. A red haze tinted my vision as rage consumed me; the berserker was unleashed.

RPOV

Alice had told me about the vision she'd had of Cormack selling out Bella to Mike, so we were waiting near the bastard's house before the traitor even pulled up. Charlie looked like he was going to kill the idiot when he pulled Bella's naked body from the trunk of his car. After another ten minutes, we rushed in to help her.

Cormack was running out of a door at the back of the house. His face masked with fear. The Chief took him out with a Ridge Hand to the throat then cuffed him. Shawna picked up his discarded duster while Emmett, Jasper and Edward searched the rest of the house. I flashed through the door that our prisoner had come from; my vampire mind absorbed all the details in the room. Bella, naked and bleeding was having trouble breathing as she faced off against Newton and a sickly mountain lion.

Without a pause, I pounced on the lion and with a simple twist of my hands snapped its neck. I rolled off the dead animal and watched as a frenzy of rage took over my Ulfheonar sister. She surged forward then slammed Mike into the opposite wall with enough force that it snapped his spine. Bella showed no sign that she would stop her assault and I was thankful when Jasper showed up. My brother sent waves of calm to the young berserker. Slowly, she came back to her senses but her knees had given out on her when she did.

I steadied Bella and helped her out of the room while Jazz dragged a barely conscious Newton out none to gently. We made it out to the living room where Carlisle examined Bells and the others did a thorough clean-up job. I noticed Mr. Newton laid out on a stretcher, drugged out of his gourd. Edward told us that he had found the older human bound and tortured in the closet of his bed room. Shawna had removed the skin from the dead lion and discovered Mrs. Newton was the second Skin Walker.

Charlie started a bonfire in the backyard and tossed all the skins the others had found in their search of the house, along with Cormack's duster, into the flames. When my father gave the okay, I drove Bella home and stayed with her. We reached her house and she noticed that Alice wasn't there. It hurt me to tell her that my sister had left and wouldn't be back for another month.

"I guess I deserve that after the way I acted," Bella said glumly.

_*Two Days Later*_

Bella's wounds had already healed but she moped around her house. Alice leaving had hit her pretty hard. On an intellectual level she understood that this was my sister's way of punishing her for being an ass. Emotionally, she couldn't move past the point that she had hurt her mate. It had only gotten worse when Alice refused to answer any of her calls. Bella must've left over a hundred messages apologizing and begging for forgiveness. I was getting upset because Alice had taken it too far.

I sat at her kitchen table and watched as the heartsick girl half-heartedly attempted to make some lunch. Bella let out a blood curdling scream as she gripped her chest in pain and fell to the floor sobbing. At vampire speed, I flashed to her side to help her.

"Bella, what's wrong," I demanded in concern.

She looked at me with dead eyes and wailed, "Alice is dead."

I stood there in shock as the brunette scrambled to her feet then bolted for the door. As she left, I noticed that her Bond mark that was visible because of the tank top she wore had faded to almost nothing. Bella wasn't in any kind of state to be left alone, so I rushed out after her while I called Renee to find out what happened.

APOV

The past two days since I've been in Paris had been torture. I lost track of how many calls and messages Bella left for. From the sound of them, Bella was truly sorry and broken up over how she acted. Apparently, the Elders had heard about her actions because they sent some lady named Brigit to meet me before my connecting flight from New York. She told me that I wasn't to answer any calls from my mate. In fact, at some point after my arrival I had to burn some little parchment scroll to let them know I would comply with their orders. It was all part of her punishment; they'd call me and let me know when I could call Bella.

I'd listened to every message and it tore me apart to hear the pain in her voice. Each one had been more upsetting than the last; she had to have thought that I was a heartless bitch by now. Renee burst through the door of our hotel room in a panic. When she saw me, the older human ran to me crying.

"Thank the Gods you're alive, I don't understand why Rose was so worried," she wailed.

When she calmed down, Renee sniffed at the air then glanced around the room. Her eye immediately found the small bowl that I burned the scroll in.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, ALICE," she yelled and I was taken aback by her outburst.

"I burned the scroll that was given to me in New York to let the Elders know I followed their instructions," I told her honestly.

My future mother-in-law looked at me like I was insane. She asked about the scroll and where I'd gotten it from. Once she learned about Brigit, Renee flew into a rage.

"Alice, Brigit is Cormack's mother. The scroll she gave you was a Severance Curse. It's one of the worst punishments an Ulfheonar can suffer, death is more humane. Bella thinks your dead, she actually felt you die," she seethed.

_NO_, my mind screamed at me as I raced to my bedroom. Bella felt me die, she was in pain and it was all my fault. Inside my room, I pulled a rectangular wooden box from my suitcase and opened it. Inside was the Raven Collar that Renee had given me for Christmas. I was already fastening it in place when I returned to the living room.

Magic flowed over me as my body transformed into a Raven. I'd learned to enjoy the freedom of flight, especially since I could still use my vampire speed. Renee had the sliding glass door that went to the balcony open for me and I immediately took flight. Eight hours later, I landed at my family's house in Forks.

Rose helped loosen my collar and I reverted back to my normal form. She explained that Bella returned to the little valley in the mountains and refused to come down. I raced there but not as fast as usual because I'd all but exhausted myself flying home. The sound of my love's crying reached me several minutes before I reached the valley.

When Bella registered my presence, she whipped around to snarl at me but it died in her throat. Instead, a look of joy and love lit up her formerly broken features. I walked to her at a human pace so that she could see the apology in my eyes. Upon reaching her, she pulled me into the tightest hug that I'd ever experienced then we fell to the ground sobbing on each other's shoulders.

There were no words exchanged, we just lay on the valley floor with our arms wrapped around each other. We both knew that we needed to have a long conversation, but that could wait until later. All that mattered at that moment was being together.


	14. Chapter 14

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight._

Ch. 14: Absolution

BPOV

Alice and I had stayed the night in each other's arms under the starlight. Nothing had been said all night but we were on the mend. I'm sure Alice used the time when I finally went to sleep to sort out everything she wanted to say to me. My thoughts were still jumbled but I knew I had a little time to get them organized. I was in desperate need of a shower so we agreed to postpone our talk until after we went back to my place and I could knock the grime from me.

I cinched my wolf-strap tight then bolted in the direction of my house. Alice ran beside me the whole way. We needed the close proximity to the other to keep ourselves sane after the past few days. When we reached the house, I loosened the strap and made my way to the bathroom while Alice headed for the kitchen.

The hot water worked its magic and eased my tense muscles. The gentle rhythm of the water pelting against my skin helped me organize my thought and come up with a plan. After only few minutes, I turned off the shower then went ahead with the plan.

When everything was in place, I called down to Alice and told her I needed some help. Instantly, she was through the door and by my side. She gasped in surprise as she took in the scene before her.

The entire bathroom was lit by twenty votive candles and the tub was filled with a hot bubble bath. I eased her head up with a finger under her chin so that I could look into her eyes. I kissed her softly on the lips then made short work of removing her clothes, not once had my eyes left hers. I wanted her to see all the love and devotion in mine held.

"Please join me," I asked as I lowered myself into the tub and held out my hand to her.

With a girlish giggle, she did. After we'd spent some time washing each other, Alice relaxed back into me as I held her tight. I leaned down to her ear and sang the old Air Supply song; All Out of Love. It seemed like the perfect choice. She snuggled deeper into me as I finished the song, then I sought her absolution.

"I was an ass. You are my Soul Mate and I should've listened to what you had to say. Out of all the others, you are the only one whose opinion matters to me and I completely ignored you. I was so consumed by my need to protect what I held dear that I almost lost it. I will never do that again and spend the rest of eternity making it up to you," I apologized from the depths of my soul and every fiber of my being.

APOV

I hadn't received a vision of what Bella had planned when she called for my help, so I'd been pleasantly surprised that she'd managed to set such a romantic scene in such a short amount of time. What surprised me even more was the song and the apology she had given me. I heard the love and conviction in every word she'd spoken as well as the underlying pain from my own stupidity. I brought her head down closer to my mouth and kissed her lovingly.

"You are forgiven, my love, and you won't need to spend eternity making it up to me. A little something from Tiffany's would do just fine," I said once I'd finally broken the kiss.

Bella laughed then pulled a waterproof bag from behind her back and tossed it gently on the sink counter. Then she held me until my curiosity had gotten the best of me. My wolf-girl helped me from the tub then dried me off. While she toweled herself off, I opened the bag and found a Tiffany's box inside. Reverently, I pulled the box from the bag gingerly opened it.

Inside the box was a platinum necklace with a large teardrop shaped diamond surrounded by sapphires then three smaller diamonds to either side of it. I screamed like I'd just won the lottery then Bella helped me put it on. It was the most exquisite piece of jewelry I'd ever seen. _Damn, my mate has excellent taste_, I thought and then remembered I still owed her an apology as well. When I turned around to do it, she placed a finger over my lips.

"You don't need to apologize to me. You came back to me so you're more than forgiven already," she whispered before she kissed me.

The sound of Bella's stomach growling ended our bathroom session. I lead the light of my existence downstairs then made her some breakfast.

_*Four Days Later*_

I had just had a vision that Bella was going to propose next month for Valentine's Day. The entire Forks Clan was at the Cullen mansion for one of our regular "Family" dinners and I was trying very hard to contain my excitement.

Rose and I had been talking about a possible all girls weekend when a hush fell over the room. Bella cleared her throat to get my attention, I turned to look at her and found her down on one knee. She held my left hand with hers and in her right was a Tiffany's box.

"Mary Alice Brandon Cullen, will you be my wife," Bella asked, her voice choked with emotion.

"Yes," I answered with equal emotion and she opened the Tiffany's box then placed the ring on my finger.

All the women ooohed and aaaahed over the ring which made me finally register what it looked like. The ring was a platinum band with a diamond and sapphires that matched the necklace she'd given me a few days ago. I cuddled up with her on the couch, lost in our own world. Neither one of us noticed when Esme called all the humans to dinner.


	15. Chapter 15

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing in SM's sandbox. None of the toys are mine._

Ch. 15: Thunderstruck

BPOV

Seven days, Alice wanted to be married on Valentine's Day and that was seven days away exactly. She'd gone all Bridezilla on me and taken both our mothers along for the ride. The three of them bitching, nagging and complaining had driven me into my own personal Hell. It didn't help that almost everyone else found my situation funny. The only two who had my back were Rose and Angela. Ang had joined our group and was currently living with Shawna and Dana Roberts learning about Wicca and magic. She was also exploring her bi-sexuality, who knew the straight-laced preacher's girl wasn't so straight after all.

The vampire and the Witch's Apprentice were the only ones that kept me sane. Things had gotten so intense back at the house that they decided to drag me up Seattle for a night on the town. Something told me there'd been more to this trip than either one had let on. My suspicion increased when Esme and Renee joined us. Rose was behind the wheel so the trip went by swiftly.

After the car was parked in the garage of one of Seattle's best luxury hotels, we scrambled out of the car and made our way to the elevator. Angela inserted a key card and the elevator headed toward the Penthouse. The Penthouse was actually made up of the top two floors of the hotel.

The bottom floor of the Penthouse was laid so that half of it was a lounge area and the other was a pool that continued out onto the balcony. Renee ran over to the bar and began making drinks for everyone and Esme guided me to one of the overstuffed chairs that had been set up in a semi-circle. I was handed some champagne then everyone else sat down when Rose pressed play on a cd player.

The opening bars of AC/DC's Thunderstruck began to play when a voice shouted, "Everyone put your hands together for Native Thunder!"

The music continued then five men ran into the room wearing biker costumes. They each stood over six feet tall, had russet colored skin and long black hair. There was a scent about them that marked them as shapeshifters from La Push. By the end of the song, all of them had stripped and given us the Full Monty. I had to admit, those boys were beautiful but they didn't hold a candle to my Alice.

While Esme, Rose and Renee were getting lap dances from the men, an alluring woman swayed her way into the room. She had the same skin and hair color as the men. Just like the men, she was extremely beautiful but was no comparison to my mate. I noticed Ang's eyes glaze over in lust as the other woman danced. She leapt from her chair then dragged the Native American girl, as well as one of the guys, and dragged them off to a corner. My other companions took that as their cue and began to demonstrate the Bill Clinton defense.

I fled upstairs and decided to just go to bed. A hand written sign on the door of the Master Suite read, _**Champagne Room**_. I tossed the sign onto the ground and bolted into the suite, closing then locking the door behind me. I flipped on the lights then someone pushed with enough force from behind that I fell into a chair that was sitting near the foot of the bed. I turned so that I could growl at my attacker and froze in my tracks.

Alice stood there in a Naught Police Woman outfit. She pushed down on my chest until my ass was planted in the seat. Then she walked behind me and handcuffed my hands behind my chair. Alice ripped my clothes off so that I was naked in the chair before she stood in front of me again. At vampire speed, she turned on a cd player on the dresser then started to give me a lap dance.

The feel of her flimsy costume on my naked skin along with being restrained was driving me crazy with lust. The song changed and her top came off then she continued the lap dance. After the fourth song, she was only wearing her Police hat and high heels. The pixie like vampire uncuffed me then threw me onto the bed and re-secured my hands to the headboard. With an evil gleam in her eyes, she picked up the plastic nightstick that went with her outfit and started teasing my nipples with it.

My clit throbbed and I was soaking wet. I begged Alice to fuck me and let me cum. She bit down on one of my nipples as she rubbed the length of her nightstick along my slit. I hissed at the contact then tried to buck my hips to get more friction but she pulled the toy away.

"Please, baby. I'll be a good girl from now on, let me cum," I whimpered and begged.

The succubus gave me a satisfied nod then thrust the prop deep into my center. I let out a load moan but it was cut off when Alice got on top of me in a classic 69 position. I lapped her slit while her tongue worked my clit as she fucked me hard with the nightstick. I knew I was close and I wanted us to fall over the edge together, so I bit down on her clit as I sucked on it and flicked it hard with the tip of my tongue. The added vibration from my muffled scream as I climaxed was enough to make Alice cum hard as well. We licked each other clean then curled up on the bed.

"I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately, I just want our wedding to be perfect. I'd forgotten that it will be perfect, no matter what, as long as we're both there saying I Do," she said then snuggled closer. I kissed her and reassured her that I wanted to marry her before drifting off to sleep.

In the morning, we joined the others downstairs. They all look hung over. When I commented on their extra curricular activities, they looked unrepentant.

"Eatin' ain't cheatin'," Rose, Esme and Renee, said at the same time in their best imitation Arkansas twang.


	16. Chapter 16

**Skins**

_Disclaimer: You already know what goes here._

Ch. 16: Storybook Story

APOV

After that wonderful night in Seattle, I threw myself back into our wedding plans with gusto. I was surprised at how easily things came together after that night. I still felt bad about being such a bitch to my love, but I guess she wasn't the only one that needed to de-stress. Today was Valentine's Day and the ceremony was just a couple of hours away. Esme and Rose finished getting me ready. My dress was a strapless white A-line gown that looked like something a starlet would wear back in the '30's. The two women left when Carlisle came in.

My father situated us at the door to my room and we waited. Edward began to play the instrumental version of Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever and I knew Charlie was walking Bella down the isle. At her request, I hadn't looked to see how this day would go. The music ended and my father led me downstairs and stopped just before the sliding glass doors that went out to our backyard. Bella said she wanted my bridal march to be something of a surprise so I had no clue what my brother was about to play. After a few notes, Rose started to sing a modified version of Storybook Story, the theme to The Princess Bride.

I wanted to cry as the lyrics washed over me and Carlisle started to walk me down the isle. I looked to the end I saw my beautiful Bella, her black gown the negative image of my own. The song ended and I was standing next to my love, my Soul Mate. Theodolf, Bella's grandfather, made us turn to each other then bound our left hands together with a gold chain.

"Mary Alice Brandon Cullen, you are the Sun that warms me, the Light that guides me. You are the Air I breathe, the Missing part of my Soul. I will love you until Creation is no more, will you be mine," Bella said, her voice thick with emotion.

"I will," I choked out then take a minute to calm down.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you are my Life's Blood and the Heart that pumps it. You are my Everything, the Missing part of my Soul. I will love you until Creation is no more, will you be mine," I said with all the love and devotion in my being.

"I will," Bella responded without hesitation.

We kissed and everyone burst out in applause and shouted congratulations. The Ceremony flowed into the reception fluidly, everyone had a good time. When the party was winding down, we made our escape in Bella's Saab. She had been tight lipped about where we were going for our honeymoon and she kept changing her mind so I couldn't find out using my visions. We boarded a private jet in Port Angeles and I still had no clue where we were going. Several hours later, the pilot was requesting permission to land from the St. Augustine control tower.

"Florida," I asked curiously.

"Just a way point," my wife commented cryptically.

We gathered our luggage then got into a taxi. The cab driver dropped us off at a marina and I cast a questioning glance at Bella. She just smiled then led me down a dock that ended at a large, luxury yacht. The name painted on the stern was Alice's Drakkar. I knew from my studies of Ulfheonar lore that drakkar was the name given to the dragon headed Viking longships. The name clicked in my head and I looked at Bella for confirmation.

"Yes, baby, this yacht is my wedding present to you. I figured you were the kind of woman to rough it in a longship while we sailed the world for our honeymoon. Besides, you'll need the extra room for all the clothes and accessories you'll buy when we visit all the fashion capitols of the world," she said with a smile.

I launched myself at her then kissed her passionately. When I broke the kiss, I flashed onto the yacht to explore. It was floating palace, my baby knew me well. She dropped our luggage off in the State Room, and then headed back up on deck. I joined her and together we cast off the mooring. Bella started the engine and eased us into the Atlantic Ocean.

The sun was rising as we sailed into our Happily Ever After.

The End.

**AN: Thanks for coming along for the ride. I hope you all enjoyed it.**


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